Want to change a kid’s life? Read a book with them.
Reading builds confidence, opens doors to knowledge and helps children develop skills that can shape their futures.
Here’s a chance for you to make a friend and a difference.
Quing Quing and our author Dana.
By Dana Greyson
The Dalles, Ore., Oct. 19, 2026 — This school year, Start Making A Reader Today program is celebrating its 35th year serving children in Oregon. Over their 35 years they have given out over 5 million books to Oregon students. An amazing community of volunteers is poised to reach over 19,000 kids and help give away more than 108,000 books this school year.
And it all starts with someone like you sitting down with a kid at a local school and taking some time together to flip the pages on the next adventure laid out in colorful pictures and fun writing. The kids could use your help.
Just ask Judi.
When Judi Timmons asked her daughter, a staff member at Colonel Wright Elementary School, how she could help as a volunteer, her daughter directed her to SMART Reading.
“That first year I read to first graders at Colonel Wright,” Timmons said. “Schools cannot operate a program unless it has a site coordinator, so the next year I moved into that position for Dry Hollow.”
This is Timmons’ third year as a SMART Reading site coordinator at Dry Hollow Elementary School.
“I love reading, I enjoy children’s literature and seeing children engaged in books,” she said. “An added plus is that Dry Hollow is where both of my now-adult children attended.”
With Oregon’s literacy rates remaining lower than desired and education budgets facing cuts, volunteer readers are needed more than ever. You can help give more students the opportunity to experience the joy of reading one-on-one with an adult.
Sue and Emmet
How SMART Reading works in The Dalles
SMART Reading supports children’s literacy by providing fun reading experiences for students at Chenowith and Dry Hollow elementary schools. Colonel Wright Elementary School also needs a site coordinator and several volunteers to restart its program.
Students build confidence in their reading abilities and discover a love of reading through the program.
No prior teaching experience is required. SMART provides volunteers with one hour of training and ongoing support by workin alongside the volunteer site coordinator.
Volunteers read one-on-one with an elementary student for one hour a week from October through May. They also help students select books they can keep for their home libraries.
Malu an Louise read all about T. rex Teeth!?
What volunteers and teachers say
“I like the ones that are challenging,” said Kimball Mullins, a veteran SMART Reading volunteer. “They have that mischievous look in their eye, and I know I can use that to get them excited about reading.”
Mullins and his wife, Cathy Mullins, are longtime volunteers with the program.
Louise Brown, a SMART Reading volunteer since 2023, is a retired teacher and librarian. She enjoys spending an hour and a half each week revisiting a favorite part of her career: lighting the spark of knowledge.
Classroom teachers say the SMART Reading program is a weekly highlight that children look forward to. Over the school year, students form strong bonds with their adult readers as the ritual of finding a quiet spot to enjoy the next adventure offers a respite in a busy school day.
SMART Reading's impact
Research cited by SMART Reading shows that students who participate in the program are 60% more likely to meet state reading benchmarks.
The organization also reports that:
Nine in 10 students show increased enjoyment of reading by the end of the school year.
Eighty-eight percent of students show increased confidence in reading.
Ninety-three percent of parents say their child benefited significantly from participating, including by demonstrating improved reading skills and spending more time reading.
How to support SMART Reading
Those interested in volunteering or learning more can contact Molly Ash, program director, at 503-616-3981 or mash@smartreading.org.
More information is available at www.smartreading.org.
Community members can also donate new or gently used books. Before donating, check SMART Reading’s book donation guidelines to confirm which books are accepted.
